You know when you see someone jogging and it’s less than 20 degrees outside and you think: “that man must be insane?”

Then you think how much fun it would be to bundle up, lace up a pair of skates and hit the ice — yeah, not so crazy anymore is it?

Once you get moving, do a few laps around the rink, maybe fall a couple (or five) times and your body starts heating up, you realize just how great playing and exercising in the cold really is.

Get those skates, grab the kids or call some friends, and hit one of these great outdoor ice skating rinks in and around Chicago.

Maggie Daley Skating Ribbon

On the north end of the fantastically fun Maggie Daley Park, adjacent to Millennium Park, is the Maggie Daley Skating Ribbon that attracts locals and tourists to skate the town red in swirly, zig-zag fashion.

You can rent both figure and hockey skates ($12-$14 depending on the day of the week) and grab a hot chocolate.

Best of all, admission is free.

Millennium Park McCormick Tribune Ice Rink

Open through March 4, the festive ice rink set between Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park is one of the most popular places to skate in the city.

You can pop by for a few twirls on the open rink before or after your lunch, dinner or drinks at one of the many nearby restaurants: Acanto, Cindy’s, Seven Lions or Park Grill.

You can rent skates — or get your pair sharpened — and admission is free.

Chicago Blackhawks Ice Rink at Winter Wonderfest

The magical, seasonal land that is Winter Wonderfest is set inside Navy Pier. In addition to numerous rides and attractions, you and the kids can spend some time on the indoor Chicago Blackhawks Ice Skating Rink.

Eldridge Park Lagoon

Head to Elmhurst’s Eldridge Park, where the lagoon gets used for ice skating — when the ice has gotten thick enough.

Staff will test the lagoon in six different locations and ensure it has a consistent three-day thickness of at least eight inches before opening the lagoon for skating.

So once you get the green light, it’s open season.

Admission is free and you’ll need to bring your own skates.

Park District of Oak Park

Being such a large and diverse city allows for Oak Park to offer a variety of places to ice skate.

You can hit a few places like Austin Gardens, Longfellow Park and Paul Hruby Ice Arena, which are open at various times. The first two are outdoor rinks while Paul Hruby is an indoor arena; admission for that is $7 and you can rent skates for $3.

Ari is a freelance lifestyle journalist covering food, wine, spirits and travel, which means he’s often out exploring great restaurants and bars in Chicago and on the road to places like Portugal and Argentina. Otherwise, he’s at home in Uptown with his husband and their super cute pooch, Eddie.

Tax season is on the horizon and big changes are ahead – the new tax bill will go into effect on January 1, 2018. Depending on your individual situation, there may be a few things you can do now to prepare for those changes, including maximizing your 2017 tax deductions.

Under current tax law, homeowners can deduct taxes paid to state and local governments, including property, income, and sales tax.

The new law caps the deduction at $10,000, either for property taxes in addition to state and local income taxes, or sales tax.

By prepaying property taxes that would otherwise be due in 2018, some taxpayers may be able to claim a deduction on their 2017 individual income tax return that would otherwise be lost in 2018 under the new legislation.

If you and your tax advisor decide to prepay your taxes, here is a list of prepayment options.

In Illinois

Cook County residents may prepay the 2017 1st installment tax bill (55% of the total 2016 bill) at cookcounytreasurer.com.

DuPage County residents may prepay up to 105% of their 2016 real estate tax bill at dupageco.org.

Lake County residents may prepay up to 100% of their 2016 bill. Any balance will be billed in 2017. More information is available at lakecountyil.gov.

McHenry County residents may prepay a deposit of any amount toward their 2017 bill at co.mchenry.il.us. The deposit amount will be held until 2017 tax bills are issued. Any difference must be settled by the due date of the 1st Installment.

Will County residents may prepay a minimum of 50% and a maximum of 110% of the 2016 bill at willcountytreasurer.com.

Taxpayers who fall under the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will not receive a benefit from pre-paying. So before making any payments or claiming deductions, it’s always important that you check with your personal tax advisor for advice specific to your property or portfolio.

We recently shared that over the course of the last 12 months, home prices have appreciated by 7.0%. Over the same amount of time, interest rates have remained historically low which has allowed many buyers to enter the market. [Read more…]

Owning a home has great financial benefits, yet many continue to rent! Today, let’s look at the financial reasons why owning a home of your own has been a part of the American Dream for as long as America has existed. [Read more…]

Maureen Moran

All information regarding a property for sale, rental, taxes or financing is from sources deemed reliable. No representation is made as to the accuracy thereof, and such information is subject to errors, omission, change of price, rental, commission, prior sale, lease or financing, or withdrawal without notice. All square footage and dimensions are approximate. Exact dimensions can be obtained by retaining the services of a professional architect or engineer.

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Doing business as Maureen Moran, Realtor, I recognize that you expect privacy and security when it comes to information that personally identifies you and allows you to be individually contacted ('Personal Information'). I have adopted the following online privacy policy because I understand the need to safeguard the information you may be providing to us at our web site.

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Doing business as Maureen Moran, Realtor, I recognize that you expect privacy and security when it comes to information that personally identifies you and allows you to be individually contacted ('Personal Information'). I have adopted the following online privacy policy because I understand the need to safeguard the information you may be providing to us at our web site.

Online Forms

When you provide me with Personal Information through my various forms, I may use that information to occasionally notify you about important functionality changes to our web site. I may need to know your name, e-mail address, mailing address and telephone numbers so I can be sure to get in touch with you when and how you ask me to. Your information will not be shared or sold to any person or entity.

About Our Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer hard drive. My cookies allow me to welcome you back to my site and provide you with your personalized home searches. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can change your browser to prevent cookies from being placed on your computer without your consent. You can still use my regular home search feature and every other function on my site even though your computer will not accept cookies. Cookies, by themselves, cannot be used to discover your identity and I do not know your identity unless you tell us.

Links to other web sites

My web site contains links to and from other web sites and may be in the form of display advertising. I cannot guarantee that web sites other than ChicagoDreamHome.com will respect and protect your Personal Information in the same manner that I do. I urge you to go to and read the Privacy Statements of other web sites when you visit them for your own protection. I am also not responsible for the content of web sites other than ChicagoDreamHome.com.

Your consent

When you provide me with Personal Information, you consent to the collection and use of this information by me for providing services necessary to complete your transaction. If I decide to change my privacy policy, I will post changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information I collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances I disclose it.